Manifesto

MANIFESTO

I believe that we are witnessing unprecedented changes in the way we communicate, the way we become informed, and the way we conduct business. It may powered by technology, but it’s driven by people. Millions of people. And these people are your customers, you clients, your guests. And they’re your potential ones as well.

Businesses must evolve as a result. That means it’s an evolution and not necessarily a revolution. Core business principles remain and traditional marketing methods still work, but new principles and methods have entered the picture. Simply put, you must adapt.

Doubt it? Take a look at industry review sites or standbys such as Yelp, Open Table, or Angie’s List and see if you’re being reviewed. Ask the people on your staff how many social media platforms they are on.

Think blogs are immaterial? Or written by teens describing their day or by geeks talking tech? Click through here and you’ll see just a small portion of the people in the DC area that have their own blogs. A lot of them are the people you want as customers. A lot of them already are.

Consider the fact that Google – which is increasingly being used for local queries – has 6,000,000,000 searches per day. Or that Facebook, which in September of 2006 was a site exclusively geared toward college students now has over 180,000,000,000 personal profiles on it. That’s bigger than the populations of North America and South America combined; only China has a larger population.

How about the fact that in early 2009, Twitter had about 6 million accounts on it. Now it’s up over 600,000,000 million. Or that a major reason that so many newspapers are suffering or even shuttering is because classifieds are moving to Amazon, Craigslist, and eBay.

Finally, take a look at the people who come through your doors. How many of them at some point pull out a smart phone or a tablet, especially one that is filled with mobile apps?

That’s how we are now connecting, getting the information that we want, sharing stories. And that’s also how we’re being marketed to.

Yes, the business environment has changed.

I don’t consider myself to be a guru or a “coach”. I’m not here to sell you the latest idea or gadget that seems cool. You may not need them and I don’t want to run my business that way. I believe in offering comprehensive and customized marketing and engagement plans for organizations to help them thrive in the digital age.